The present invention generally relates to safety attachments for a child safety seat. Specifically, the present invention is a new type of detachable head support for a child safety seat useful in preventing discomfort and injury to a sleeping child.
Children in the United States are required by law to be restrained within a child safety seat while riding in a motor vehicle. Child safety seats are designed to prevent injury to children by providing a separate seat having secondary restraints that are superior to standard adult safety belts.
A standard child safety seat is made of a unitary plastic shell having a back and sidewalls that partially enclose a volume large enough to accommodate the hips and upper body of a child. The shell is lined with a soft cushion, and more importantly includes a securely attached child restraint harness. In operation, a child is seated within the protective shell of the safety seat and the restraint harness is secured around the shoulders and upper body of the child.
The protection afforded by modern safety seats is outstanding as long as the child is awake and alert. However, if the child falls asleep and relaxes his or her neck muscles, minor injury can result as a result of neck strain. More serious injury to the head and neck can occur as a result of applied g-forces in the event of a vehicle crash, or even non-crash injuries can occur as a sleeping child""s head slams from side-to-side during vehicle turns and lane changes.
This problem is well recognized in the prior art, and various devices have been proposed to alleviate the risk of injury. Basically, these devices are comprised of cushions that are positioned on either side of the child""s head, so that the child will rest his or her head on one of the cushions when sleeping. The cushions may be detachably secured to the sides of the seat, attached to the shoulder areas of the seat belt, or even wrapped around the child""s neck. Despite the large number of devices proposed, no device has been widely accepted to address this need.
It is believed that the reasons for this lack of acceptance are two-fold. First, prior art devices tend to be difficult to attach and remove, detracting from their use. Second, in many instances, the devices are useful with only one type of seat, requiring the purchase of a new type of device, if available, if the seat is replaced, or when the child begins use of a booster seat instead of a safety seat.
What is needed is a readily attachable and detachable head support that will effectively support the position of a child""s head in seats of different configurations.
The present invention addresses this need by providing a convenient and easy to attach head support that restrains the lateral movement of a sleeping child""s head. The head support, two identical supports being used on the left and right sides of a seat, is comprised of a cushion that is adapted to quickly and easily clamp securely to the sides of seats of various configurations at locations level with the child""s head.
The cushion section of each support is dimensioned to extend inwardly from the side of the seat and includes at least one headrest face that is generally perpendicular, e.g., within 30xc2x0 of perpendicular, to the back of the seat, is positioned so that the child""s head will rest against the headrest face with the child""s head and neck in a substantially upright position.
Each head support also includes a clamp attached to one side of the cushion section. The clamp includes a clamp arm attached to a clamp face of the cushion section. The clamp arm includes a proximal end and a free distal end, and is moveable between an open position and a closed position. The proximal end of the clamp arm is attached to the cushion section, with the arm adjacent the proximal end being spaced from the cushion member at a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the seat arm over which the head support is to be attached, while the distal end of the clamp arm is adjacent the cushion member when the clamp arm is in the closed position. The tip of the clamp arm may curve outwardly, i.e., away from the cushion member, to facilitate positioning of the head support over the edge of the seat arm.
The preferred clamp arm includes a resilient clamping member that is preferably covered by a foam or other cover to minimize the risk of injury to the child. The resilient member includes an outer section that conforms to the shape of the clamp arm and extends through the clamp arm from the proximal end to substantially the distal end, and an inner member that is attached to the cushion section. The inner and outer sections of the resilient member may be of a unitary construction urging the clamp arm toward the closed position. For example, the resilient member may be a curved metal or plastic strip.
Alternatively, the inner and outer sections of the resilient member may be hinged together, with a spring urging the distal ends of the sections toward each other. In this alternative, handles, which may also be covered with a foam material, can be attached to the sections to facilitate opening of the clamp arm.
As noted previously, the head supports are preferably useful on seats having different configurations. For example, some seats may be comprised of a back section with a center section and side arms that extend generally perpendicular forward from the outer edges of the center section, so that the head supports will be clamped to the side arms. Other seats may be comprised of a back section without side arms, or with side sections substantially parallel to the center section. The orientation of the head supports when used on the different seats will be different, rendering most prior art devices unsuitable for use with both seat types.
The present invention addresses this prior art deficiency by providing a head support with two headrest faces that are oriented at a 90xc2x0 angle to each other. One of the headrest faces is parallel to, and on the opposite side of the cushion section from, the clamp face of the head support, while the second headrest face is located on the inner side of the cushion section, extending between the edge of the first headrest face and the distal edge of the clamp face.
Preferably the cushion section of the head support is substantially cubical, with parallel top and bottom surfaces, a clamp face parallel to and extending between the top and bottom surfaces, a first headrest face opposite the clamp face side, a second headrest face extending between the clamp face side and the first headrest side at about a 90xc2x0 angle to the first headrest side, and a back side opposite the second headrest side.
The cushion section and the covering over the clamp arm are formed of a resilient foam, such as foam rubber of a foamed synthetic plastic, such as polyurethane. The foam can be skinned or covered with a cloth or plastic covering material, such as terry cloth.